Intercepts

It's a battle royal with no clear winner... not the Democratic primaries, but the helicopter parent debate in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Sun ran an article on Tuesday about parental involvement taken to the extreme. The trigger was an annual survey by the Howard County Education Association that shows a majority of teachers say they have been subjected to harassment, and most of the harassment is done by parents.

"The workload is bad, but coupled with over-demanding parents, the job is horrible," said HCEA President Ann DeLacy.

In what can't possibly be a coincidence, the Sun also put up a bulletin board for readers to comment on the story.

Hoo boy.

Beginning with "cut the cord, and stop pestering those who are trying to educate your little brats!" to "Our public schools are filled with teachers who want to control the world" to "BACK OFF!" to "Classrooms are in fact mini-fiefdoms," everyone is launching missiles right and left. And yes, some in middle:

"Yes, there are two sides to the story: impossibly overbearing parents are one; school employees with a 'only we know best' attitude are the other."